


We Make Our Own Fortune

by Magicnation



Series: TAZ Pride Week 2018 [5]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Beer, Gen, Team Bonding, offhandedly coming out to Aubrey, trans duck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-23 19:33:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14940507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magicnation/pseuds/Magicnation
Summary: The Pine Guard share a beer or two and wonder about the future.





	We Make Our Own Fortune

**Author's Note:**

> **Day 5: The Future/Past**

Watched over by a thousand stars, a warm breeze flits through the branches of a silver maple. A leaf comes loose and drifts lazily down to the picnic bench below, where Duck Newton picks it up and uses it to sweep dozens of the tree’s helicopter-blade seeds off of the picnic table where the Pine Guard share a six-pack of Leinenkugel’s. 

“I’m thinking my next promotional feature will be divination,” Ned is saying. “Got me a couple crystal balls and shit in yesterday. People love that fortune-telling mumbo jumbo.”

“Ooh, really? Sounds cool!” Aubrey grabs a bottle and pops the top.

“Yeah, I gotta say, I don’t really see the appeal.” Duck sips his beer.

“No? You don’t wanna know when you’re gonna meet your future partner, whether or not you’ll get your dream house? That kind of thing?” Aubrey asks.

“Just seems silly to me. Guess I don’t want spoilers for my own life.” 

Ned tilts his head to the side, squinting up at Orion in his perpetual hunt. “I mean, would the future-telling shit really be spoilers? As in, there’s only one predetermined outcome?”

“Take it from the guy with a destiny. The future’s gonna happen.”

Aubrey frowns. “So you don’t believe in free will and all that.”

“No, I do. Maybe I should have clarified. I don’t believe in a _predetermined_ outcome. I reckon the future is going to happen because of the choices we make and the things we do. Just like, I was always going to be Mr. Newton, because I was always going to figure out that I wasn’t, ya know. _Miss_ Newton.” He shudders. “Jesus, that still sounds so...wrong.”

“Wait wait wait.” Aubrey puts up a hand. “So when you said Duck is a nickname…”

“Yep. Only name I’ll ever need.” 

Ned gives him a sidelong glance. “I’ll say. So, you do think the future can be known?”

“Sure. Again, fella with the destiny talking here. I’m just saying it isn’t planned, it’s… resultant.” Duck shrugs. “S’what I reckon, anyway.”

“Makes sense to me.” Ned takes a drink. “Never worried ‘bout it much, anyway. Figure we just do what we can with what we’ve got, right? And what we’ve got is the present.”

“Might as well enjoy it,” Duck declares with a grin, raising his bottle.

Grinning, Aubrey lifts her own beer. “I’ll drink to that.”


End file.
